


Night Falls

by Traeger



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Korrasami - Freeform, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6228460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traeger/pseuds/Traeger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the Glacial Spirits Festival and Korra wants nothing more than to have one night of freedom without her White Lotus minders. She gives them the slip, and stumbles upon a demonstration of snowmobiles by Future Industries. The only thing more enthralling than the technological innovation is its racer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Falls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Sorry; I can't write proper summaries. 
> 
> Based on jtav's prompt.

Korra stepped nearer and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Freedom smelt like deep-fried tiger seal cutlets and…and…she sniffed the air, catching something else beyond the overwhelming sweetness of a candy floss of the kid who just walked past. A hint of spice, a hint of something floral.

And then it was gone. She couldn’t identify it, but whatever it was, it was nice.

The illusion was broken when she felt a heavy hand clamp down onto her shoulder. “Don’t wander too far, Avatar Korra.”

She opened her eyes, sighing. “I wasn’t even moving, Misae.”

“Oh relax, give it a rest. It’s the Glacial Spirits Festival! A time for family and fun.” Yiska grinned, nudging his companion in the ribs.

Misae sniffed derisively. “Fun? It _used_ to be sacred, a time for fasting and reflection. Not this”– she waved her hand around her at the carnival-like atmosphere –“not this…farce.”

“All I’m saying is that if I were a spirit, I’d be a whole lot more entertained, you know?” He shrugged.

“Entertained? You people…” She looked nothing short of scandalized. “That’s it. Anyway, we’ve got to go. Chief Unalaq is going to start the mass meditation soon.”

“But we’ve only just gotten here.” Korra whined. _She hated meditation_. It wasn’t fair that she got to leave the compound for even more meditation. It was hard enough doing it alone, and now that they were surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes from around the world, there was no way to not be distracted.

A fire-breathing juggler on stilts loped past; now this was the kind of thing what she was here for.

“Look, why don’t you go on ahead? We’ll join you later. I just saw an old training buddy of mine, want to say hi first.” Yiska smoothly intervened.

“And Korra?”

“She will be right by my side, don’t you worry.”

Misae bit her lip, conflicted as she consulted her watch. It was going to start soon, and she didn’t want to miss Unalaq’s traditional opening prayer. Finally, she muttered, “You two better not get in trouble.” With that, she hurried away.

“Northerners.” Yiska snorted as they watched her make her way through the throng of people. “You’d think that all that ice up there froze their sense of humour too. But look at us, they may have pretty night skies, but ours…we make our own pretty lights too, don’t you think?”

When she was out of sight, Korra turned to her other minder. “Just how much did Dad pay you to not tell her that Uncle mentioned postponing the service after ‘consulting with the spirits’?” She said the last bit with air quotes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eyes were innocently wide. He waited a beat before giving her a conspiratorial wink, whispering. “It was Master Katara.”

They began strolling through the fairgrounds. Korra figured they only had an hour window before Misae figured it out, so she would have to plan the games she wanted to play carefully.

However, there seemed to be something big going on from the west end of the fairground. There were loud whoops followed by revving sounds. Not every day you hear something like this at the compound. She glanced at Yiska, who was busy chatting up the handsome slim fellow who manned one of the food stalls.

Making a mental apology to him for the trouble she was about to cost him and hoped whatever Katara paid him was enough to make up for it, she took a few discreet steps backward. He didn’t turn around.

A few more steps… aaand freedom.

She weaved nimbly through the crowd towards the source of the commotion. There she saw a tent, emblazoned with a large corporate logo of a half-gear with the words ‘Future Industries’ in bold lettering beneath them. Next to it was the one she was more familiar with, Varrick Global Industries. They were a powerhouse here, and the pride of every Southerner.

Some kind of circuit had been set up. Two snowmobiles were behind a line drawn in the ground, each revving their engines, sending flurries of snow behind them.

“What’s happening here?” She asked the nearest person next to her.

“Not sure but I think Future Industries is trying to promote their newest line of snowmobiles. Having a friendly race or something. SatoSnow!” The old man scoffed. “You’d think they’ll at least come up with a better name.”

“Well, the Varrimobile isn’t all that better.”

“Whose side are you on?” He demanded. Korra immediately backed down, not being in the mood to argue about what companies named their products. _But a race?_ That sounded fun. She craned her neck, trying to get a closer look.

The Varrimobile was familiar; sturdy and utilitarian. But SatoSnow was…something else. What was unusual was that it had a closed cabin which narrowed at the top. The track and slide rails at its rear formed a triangle instead of the usual linear form for snowmobiles.

If this was a design contest, it would win hands down. It was all sleek and black, its blood-red skis gleamed against the white. There was something alluring about it, a certain dangerous beauty. Naga may always be her first love, but she never wanted anything more in that moment than to ride that.

“It’s obvious they’re not from here. Everyone knows that half the fun is feeling the wind in your face.” Her neighbour muttered, offering yet another unsolicited opinion.

Another stranger chimed in. “I suppose, if you like half your face frozen off.” Someone else hushed them.

The crowd fell silent. The race was about to start.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, in this friendly race, we pair off the Southern Water Tribe’s own Varrimobile S3 against a newcomer from Republic City’s Future Industries, the SatoSnow. It’s their first snowmobile, so I guess we can allow some leeway.” The announcer’s voice boomed through a speaker to the tittering crowd. “On my mark, go!” She nodded at the firebender next to her and an impressive burst of flame flew out from her outstretched fist.

And the riders were off, the sound of engines filling the night skies.

In the compound, Korra had learnt that bending was more than just using her chi to manipulate the elements. Each style was grounded in certain core philosophies. In fire, Korra learnt to control her element. In earth, she learnt to stand her ground. In water, she learnt to adapt. In air, she would soon learn to let go.

It didn’t seem possible to emulate these in inanimate objects. But as she watched the way both machines moved; they encapsulated the spirit of all the bending forms. There was graceful control in its precision as they curved around the track, and each other. The slip of ice didn’t seem to deter them as the tracks bit into the surface, crunching the packed snow beneath. She held her breath when the Varrimobile knocked the SatoSnow out of its course. As it spun, it used its momentum to correct itself and the skis righted themselves once more as it sped onwards.

The atmosphere was infectious and soon she was cheering along with them. All around her, her people rooted for their own home-grown brand, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the SatoSnow. It was a close race, and they were neck to neck for the most part. When the Varrimobile overtook it in a curve, the crowd went wild. She groaned loudly and didn’t notice the few glares shot her way.

“Come on! You can do it!” She yelled at the nameless rider though she was certain he wouldn’t hear her through the glass. It closed the gap quickly but the SatoSnow never regained its lead as they both zoomed past the finish line at the same time, the snow making it impossible to determine the winner.

The driver of the SatoSnow had some cheek as he revved his engines and spun it around in several tight circles until it tilted the entire vehicle onto one ski, spraying snow everywhere, much to the delight of the crowd.

“Maybe I might try a SatoSnow this time around. It looks great.” Someone said excitedly behind her.

He was clearly still in perfect control as the snowmobile came back down before coming to a complete stop. It was an impressive display.

“Show off.” The man next to Korra muttered.

For some reason, it annoyed her. A lot. “Hey, that was still pretty cool to watch.”

“What do you know, kid?”

Korra took a deep breath and was about to retort when her gaze fell past him toward the small podium where the racers were standing. The rider of the SatoSnow was no man as she assumed.

That much was clear, despite the thick padded winter gear she had on. Her visor was open but her face was still obscured from Korra as she shook her rival’s hand.  Her head tilted forward as the other rider exchanged words with her. The crowd was no longer paying attention to them, and they milled about, waiting to touch and inspect both vehicles.

Out of a compulsion she could not explain, Korra’s eyes followed the racer, and her feet automatically drew her closer as the she walked off to one side. Approaching from behind, she tapped nervously on her shoulder.

“Hey, I just wanted to say how –” She didn’t finish because the rider had turned, removing her helmet and shaking her hair loose in the same movement. Strands of the waves of rich dark hair fluttered in the night air as she pushed them out of her eyes. There was that same hint of spice and floral scent again.

“–how…uh– ” Whatever she wanted to say, it flew out her mind the moment their eyes met. If she thought the snowmobile was beautiful before, it was nothing compared to its rider. Her throat went dry and heat rose in her cheeks. Green eyes stared at her curiously. She could hardly be older than her.

“…uh… whoa. I mean, uh, wow. No! I mean, awesome. That was awesome. And wow. Driving.” _What was wrong with her brain?_

Red lips curved into a surprisingly shy smile. “Thank you.” There was a slight lilt in her voice, one Korra found rather charming. She shifted, tucking the helmet under her arm and holding out her hand, she said, “I’m Asami.”

“Asami.” She tested the name out. It sounded nice. “Korra.”

“Nice to meet you, Korra.”

“So, uh, do you want to get out of here?”

A faint crease formed on Asami’s forehead as she lifted an eyebrow slightly. Korra mentally kicked herself. _Wait, was that weird?_ _Too forward?_ She would never use one of Yiska’s lines ever again. _Dammit. That had worked for him, or so he said. Maybe she ought to not believe his tales next time._

“Sorry.” She stammered. “I just mean, there’s a pretty good stall over there that sells the best of Southern Water Tribe grub. If you’re hungry, or anything.”

Asami paused a moment to consider it, and then she said. “Let me change out of my gear first, and I’ll meet you here?”

Korra nodded dumbly, watching her head back to the tent. She slapped her forehead several times out of sheer embarrassment once she was out of sight. _You can face down a wall of fire in training but you can’t ask someone out without looking like a creep. Good going, Korra._

Glancing around, the coast was still clear. But time was ticking by, every precious second she stood here was wasting a precious second before she was found out. She was counting on Yiska not raising the alarm just yet, because he would just be in as much trouble as her for this. Misae wasn’t going to be a problem; she shared too much of her Uncle’s wariness of new technology to be bothered to check this place out of her own volition.

 _What was taking Asami so long? Hang on, was that maybe a rejection and she didn’t know it_? Korra fidgeted, kicking the tip of her boot into the snow. The delay was driving her nuts. Counting down from twenty, she told herself she would leave by the time- 

“Korra? Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Her head snapped up to see Asami standing there in a rather fashionable double-breasted winter coat, a belt around her waist accentuating her figure. Korra never saw anyone more put together, and certainly wouldn’t have guessed that the daredevil in the snowmobile and this girl were one and the same.

“No, no. No problem at all.” She stood there for a moment just staring at her, before shaking her head. “So, uhm. Are you hungry?”

“Well, I haven’t really had the chance to go around the festival grounds yet. We’ve been pretty busy with the product launch.” She had an apologetic look on her face. “Why don’t you lead the way?”

“Yeah, sure. I could do that.” Korra was relieved that normal speech function seemed to be returning. They walked away from the racing area. “How did you learn to ride a snowmobile like that?”

Asami grinned. “Well…practice. A lot of it. The first time I went on one, it just flew out from under me. My butt hurt for days.” Korra laughed. There was an easiness in conversing with her, and her nervousness soon fell away.

As they entered the fairgrounds proper, Korra was struck with the realisation that she didn’t have any money on her. She was sure Katara probably had gotten Yiska to pay for any of the rides and games she wanted. But Yiska wasn’t here. Asami sensed her hesitation when her confident stride faltered.

“Is anything wrong?” Korra chanced a glance at her and saw faint concern in her eyes.

“N..no. Nothing’s the matter. Just getting my bearings. This place is huge.” Korra looked around, trying to figure out several things at one go. Spotting the stall she was looking for, she grabbed Asami’s hand without thinking and made a beeline for it. It was stall selling dried seaweed snacks.

“Uncle Ajuq! It’s good to see you again.”

“Korra? What are you doing here? Where’s your– ” He broke off as Korra shot him a warning look. Ajuq was her mother’s brother so she knew there was no risk of him calling her the Avatar. His eyes flitted to their still-joined hands. Realising it belatedly, Korra immediately let go but it was too late as she saw the smirk playing on her uncle’s lips. _Oh boy._ _She would never hear the end of this._

She turned her body so that her face was hidden from Asami. “Heh. Remember mum told you to pass the tea to me to pass to her?”

Ajuq looked confused, rightfully so, as he lived only a few doors away from Senna.   _I need money_ , _please_ , she mouthed silently.

Thankfully, he caught on quick enough.

“Right…? Oh! Right…” Bending down out of sight, he re-emerged a few moments later with a small nondescript pouch. Before she could take it, he snatched it away again and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I get to tell this story at the dinner table for the rest of your life.”

“Fine!” She hissed back, before adding. “Thanks…You’re a life-saver.”

“Doing my part for the balance of the world.” His voice returned to normal volume as he winked. She sputtered indignantly before he shooed her away.

“What was all that about?” Asami had an enquiring look on her face after they left.

Korra shoved her hands into her pocket. “Oh, nothing. Just family being a nuisance.” She quickly changed the subject, leading her away.

The glacial spirits must be on her side tonight because they miraculously encountered no one who would blow her cover as they wandered from stall to stall. She watched in fascination as Asami’s apprehension transform to one of delight as she tasted her first deep-fried artic hen nuggets. And her unbridled enthusiasm as she watched a skilled waterbender speed-sculpt various animals and people with his eyes closed.

Asami caught her staring and smiled in return, a faint blush on her cheeks. Korra could only grin back. And she certainly didn’t complain when Asami grabbed her forearm to point excitedly at a domesticated otter penguin that waddled nearby. When she laughed, it lighted up her whole face. _Is this what it feels like to be normal?_

They soon found themselves in front of an old woman who sat next to an open bonfire. A few people, mostly children, sat around her in front of the large white sheet placed in front of the firelight. Intricately carved flat figures held up by thin wires danced as the elder spoke.

“Ah, it’s a shadow play. They tell the stories from our traditional folk tales.” Korra explained to a curious Asami. They fell silent as they listened, entranced as the storyteller’s beguiling voice pulled them into myths of old.

Asami shivered in the chilly night air as she tucked her palms beneath her arms, wishing she didn’t forget her gloves.

“Hey, here.” She protested feebly as Korra tugged off her own mittens and offered them to her.

“I’m used to it. See, I’m never cold.” Korra’s palms covered her own and they were comfortingly warm to the touch. Her cheeks were tinged with pink that had nothing to do with the cold. Korra wasn’t like anyone she’d met before.

As she stared into those eyes, blue fire that blazed with life, her heart racing, Asami wondered if this was what it felt like to be normal, a teenage girl without all the responsibilities she had.

She relished it. Even if it was just for tonight.

The spell broke when a loud gong sounded from somewhere in the distance. Korra frowned for the first time in the entire evening. A dark look crossed her face. Suddenly, her eyes seemed older than her years, as though carrying a burden of the whole world. Looking away, she seemed distracted.

“Korra?”

“Ah, Asami. You know that tale we just heard? About the girl who has to get home before midnight before her carriage transform back to a cucumberquat and her horsemen into otter penguins?” Her tone was still light, but the underlying earnestness didn’t escape her.

“Yeah?”

“I have to go, I’m so sorry. I have to be... someplace else.” The regret was genuine.

The abruptness of the announcement threw her off but she recovered quickly. “Surely you must have a better way than going home in a cucumberquat?”

Korra smiled, a little sadly perhaps. “A polar bear dog, actually.”

Asami wasn’t sure if she was still joking or not. Before she could say anything else, Korra tiptoed and pressed a shy kiss on her cheek before stumbling away in shock at her own boldness.

“I…I’ve…really got to go.” With that, she turned and bolted.

_What… just happened?_

Asami raised her hand to call after her. “Wait, you forgot your mittens.” But Korra was already gone. Pulling them off, she studied them carefully. There was a certain homemade quality to it in its faded blue and white pattern. One side was fraying slightly.

It seemed silly, but she clutched onto them as though it would be key to one day finding her again.

 

**...............................................................**

 

**A year later**

 

The gala in Republic City was in full swing. Between her and Tenzin, neither of them was enjoying the night very much. Tenzin had his hands full fending off Tarrlok and trying to keep his children from the chaos they’d inevitably caused when left unsupervised. Korra wanted nothing more than to be rid of all the superficial pomp and stuffy people who were trying to ingratiate themselves with the Avatar.

“Avatar Korra, may I introduce you to my daughter?” Hiroshi Sato stepped to one side to let her through.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. “Asami??”

“Korra?”

Hiroshi frowned. “Have you two met before?”

Both of them merely stared at each other in disbelief, ignoring him. Despite having no clue to what was happening, Tenzin wisely stepped in and drew the industrialist’s attention away. Just then, Tarrlok cut in and Asami gracefully excused herself.

It was another excruciating two hours before either could escape, but they finally found themselves alone in the side garden.

“So…Avatar, huh?”

Korra rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “Uh…yeah…I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For leaving you like that last time without a proper explanation. I had to get back before they sent the entire White Lotus looking for me.”

Asami took a step towards her, and Korra gulped. The red dress she was wearing wasn’t helping matters. “I hope you didn’t get into trouble.”

Her face broke into her familiar grin. “Well, not too much. And I’d say it was worth it.”

“Really?”

“Definitely, Miss Sato.”

A beat of silence passed between them before Asami spoke again. “I’m going to the racetrack tomorrow. Want me to take you for a spin?”

“I’d like that.” Korra stepped close.

“I think it’s only fair to show you around, now that you’re here.” Her words were almost at a whisper now, her breath ghosting over her left cheek and ear. A breeze caused her hair to flutter. The waft of her perfume filled Korra’s senses, an intoxicating scent, making her light-headed as her pulse spiked. She couldn’t help her gaze, flicking uncertainly between her eyes and her lips. She wondered how they would taste. Her breath hitched. They were so close…

“Kooorrrraaa! Where are yooouuuu? We’re going home!”  Meelo’s voice cut into her daze and broke the spell.

_Really, they had the worse timing._

Asami drew back, chuckling, the mood now ruined.

“I guess it’s nearly midnight, princess.” She murmured playfully, her fingers nearly brushing Korra’s hair. Korra shook her head, joining her in her amusement.

“So…tomorrow?” She couldn’t keep the hopeful note out of her voice. When Asami nodded, she took one of her hands and gave it a quick peck on the back of it.

“I guess I’ll see you then.” It was with a lot of reluctance when she turned to leave.

“Oh, and Korra?”

“Yes?” She looked oved her shoulder.

“Dinner’s on me. You won’t have to worry about promising your uncle your first-born.” She winked.

She could still hear the peal of Asami’s knowing laughter as she fell asleep that night with a goofy smile.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This...was as much fluff I could write.
> 
> If anyone's interested, the Varrimobile looks like [this](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/avatar/images/6/6e/Snowmobile.png/revision/latest?cb=20130917195324), and the SatoSnow was based on a black-coloured version of [this](https://usatunofficial.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/snow_machine3.jpg).
> 
> As always, all comments and feedback are welcome. :)


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